{77:2} Aperiam in parabolis os meum: loquar propositiones ab initio. {77:2} I will open my mouth in parables. I will speak about concepts that are from the beginning.

{77:3} Quanta audivimus et cognovimus ea: et patres nostri narraverunt nobis. {77:3} We have heard and known such great things, as our fathers have described to us.

{77:4} Non sunt occultata a filiis eorum, in generatione altera. Narrantes laudes Domini, et virtutes eius, et mirabilia eius quæ fecit. {77:4} These things have not been hidden from their sons in any generation: declaring the praises of the Lord, and his virtues, and the wonders that he has done.

{77:5} Et suscitavit testimonium in Iacob: et legem posuit in Israel. Quanta mandavit patribus nostris nota facere ea filiis suis: {77:5} And he has received testimony with Jacob, and he has set a law within Israel. Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons,

{77:6} ut cognoscat generatio altera. Filii qui nascentur, et exurgent, et narrabunt filiis suis, {77:6} so that another generation might know them, and so that the sons, who will be born and who will grow up, shall describe them to their sons.

{77:7} Ut ponant in Deo spem suam, et non obliviscantur operum Dei: et mandata eius exquirant. {77:7} So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God, and may they seek his commandments.

{77:8} Ne fiant sicut patres eorum: generatio prava et exasperans. Generatio, quæ non direxit cor suum: et non est creditus cum Deo spiritus eius. {77:8} May they not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation: a generation that does not straighten their heart and whose spirit is not trustworthy with God.

{77:9} Filii Ephrem intendentes et mittentes arcum: conversi sunt in die belli. {77:9} The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, have been turned back in the day of battle.

{77:10} Non custodierunt testamentum Dei, et in lege eius noluerunt ambulare. {77:10} They have not kept the covenant of God. And they were not willing to walk in his law.

{77:11} Et obliti sunt benefactorum eius, et mirabilium eius quæ ostendit eis. {77:11} And they have been forgetful of his benefits, and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.

{77:12} Coram patribus eorum fecit mirabilia in terra Ægypti, in campo Taneos. {77:12} He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.

{77:13} Interrupit mare, et perduxit eos: et statuit aquas quasi in utre. {77:13} He broke the sea and he led them through. And he stationed the waters, as if in a vessel.

{77:14} Et deduxit eos in nube diei: et tota nocte in illuminatione ignis. {77:14} And he led them with a cloud by day, and with illumination by fire throughout the night.

{77:15} Interrupit petram in eremo: et adaquavit eos velut in abysso multa. {77:15} He broke through the rock in the wasteland, and he gave them to drink, as if from the great abyss.

{77:16} Et eduxit aquam de petra: et deduxit tamquam flumina aquas. {77:16} He brought forth water from the rock, and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.

{77:17} Et apposuerunt adhuc peccare ei: in iram excitaverunt Excelsum in inaquoso. {77:17} And yet, they continued to sin against him. In a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.

~ They were angry and resentful that they were led to a waterless place by God.

{77:18} Et tentaverunt Deum in cordibus suis: ut peterent escas animabus suis. {77:18} And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking for food according to their desires.

{77:19} Et male locuti sunt de Deo: dixerunt: Numquid poterit Deus parare mensam in deserto? {77:19} And they spoke badly about God. They said, “Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?

{77:20} Quoniam percussit petram, et fluxerunt aquæ, et torrentes inundaverunt. Numquid et panem poterit dare, aut parare mensam populo suo? {77:20} He struck the rock, and so waters flowed and the torrents flooded, but would even he be able to provide bread, or provide a table, for his people?”

{77:21} Ideo audivit Dominus, et distulit: et ignis accensus est in Iacob, et ira ascendit in Israel: {77:21} Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was dismayed, and a fire was kindled within Jacob, and an anger ascended into Israel.

{77:22} Quia non crediderunt in Deo, nec speraverunt in salutari eius: {77:22} For they neither put their trust in God, nor did they hope in his salvation.

{77:23} Et mandavit nubibus desuper, et ianuas cæli aperuit. {77:23} And he commanded the clouds from above, and he opened the doors of heaven.

{77:24} Et pluit illis manna ad manducandum, et panem cæli dedit eis. {77:24} And he rained down manna upon them to eat, and he gave them the bread of heaven.

{77:25} Panem angelorum manducavit homo: cibaria misit eis in abundantia. {77:25} Man ate the bread of Angels. He sent them provisions in abundance.

{77:26} Transtulit Austrum de cælo: et induxit in virtute sua Africum. {77:26} He transferred the south wind from heaven, and, in his virtue, he brought in the Southwest wind.

{77:27} Et pluit super eos sicut pulverem carnes, et sicut arenam maris volatilia pennata. {77:27} And he rained down flesh upon them, as if it were dust, and feathered birds, as if they were the sand of the sea.

{77:28} Et ceciderunt in medio castrorum eorum: circa tabernacula eorum. {77:28} And they fell down in the midst of their camp, encircling their tabernacles.

{77:29} Et manducaverunt et saturati sunt nimis, et desiderium eorum attulit eis: {77:29} And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires.

{77:30} non sunt fraudati a desiderio suo. Adhuc escæ eorum erant in ore ipsorum, {77:30} They were not cheated out of what they wanted. Their food was still in their mouth,

{77:31} et ira Dei ascendit super eos. Et occidit pingues eorum, et electos Israel impedivit. {77:31} and then the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones among them, and he impeded the elect of Israel.

{77:32} In omnibus his peccaverunt adhuc: et non crediderunt in mirabilibus eius. {77:32} In all these things, they continued to sin, and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.

{77:33} Et defecerunt in vanitate dies eorum: et anni eorum cum festinatione. {77:33} And their days faded away into vanity, and their years with haste.

{77:34} Cum occideret eos, quærebant eum: et revertebantur, et diluculo veniebant ad eum. {77:34} When he slew them, then they sought him. And they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.

{77:35} Et rememorati sunt quia Deus adiutor est eorum: et Deus excelsus redemptor eorum est. {77:35} And they were mindful that God is their helper and that the Most High God is their redeemer.

{77:36} Et dilexerunt eum in ore suo, et lingua sua mentiti sunt ei: {77:36} And they chose him with their mouth, and then they lied to him with their tongue.

{77:37} Cor autem eorum non erat rectum cum eo: nec fideles habiti sunt in testamento eius. {77:37} For their heart was not upright with him, nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.

{77:38} Ipse autem est misericors, et propitius fiet peccatis eorum: et non disperdet eos. Et abundavit ut averteret iram suam: et non accendit omnem iram suam: {77:38} Yet he is merciful, and he will pardon their sins. And he will not destroy them. And he has abundantly turned aside his own wrath. And he did not enflame his wrath entirely.

{77:39} Et recordatus est quia caro sunt: spiritus vadens, et non rediens. {77:39} And he remembered that they are flesh: with a spirit that goes forth and does not return.

~ In the ancient view, man is body, spirit, and soul. The spirit of man is not a third part, but merely the quality of being alive, when body and soul are united. At death, body and soul are separated, and spirit (the breath of life) seems to cease to exist, but only because it is a quality, not a thing.

{77:40} Quoties exacerbaverunt eum in deserto, in iram concitaverunt eum in inaquoso? {77:40} How often did they provoke him in the desert and stir him to wrath in a waterless place?

{77:41} Et conversi sunt, et tentaverunt Deum: et Sanctum Israel exacerbaverunt. {77:41} And they turned back and tempted God, and they exasperated the Holy One of Israel.

{77:42} Non sunt recordati manus eius, die qua redemit eos de manu tribulantis, {77:42} They did not remember his hand, in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of the one troubling them.

{77:43} Sicut posuit in Ægypto signa sua, et prodigia sua in campo Taneos. {77:43} Thus, he positioned his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Tanis.

{77:44} Et convertit in sanguinem flumina eorum, et imbres eorum, ne biberent. {77:44} And he turned their rivers into blood, along with their rain showers, so that they could not drink.

{77:45} Misit in eos cœnomyiam, et comedit eos: et ranam, et disperdidit eos. {77:45} He sent among them the common fly, and it devoured them, and the frog, and it scattered them.

{77:46} Et dedit ærugini fructus eorum: et labores eorum locustæ. {77:46} And he gave up their fruits to mold and their labors to the locust.

{77:47} Et occidit in grandine vineas eorum: et moros eorum in pruina. {77:47} And he slew their vineyards with hail and their mulberry trees with severe frost.

{77:48} Et tradidit grandini iumenta eorum: et possessionem eorum igni. {77:48} And he delivered their cattle to the hail and their possessions to fire.

{77:49} Misit in eos iram indignationis suæ: indignationem, et iram, et tribulationem: immissiones per angelos malos. {77:49} And he sent the wrath of his indignation among them: indignation and wrath and tribulation, sent forth by evil angels.

{77:50} Viam fecit semitæ iræ suæ, non pepercit a morte animabus eorum: et iumenta eorum in morte conclusit. {77:50} He made way for the path of his anger. He did not spare their souls from death. And he enclosed their beasts of burden in death.

{77:51} Et percussit omne primogenitum in terra Ægypti: primitias omnis laboris eorum in tabernaculis Cham. {77:51} And he struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt: the first-fruits of all their labor in the tabernacles of Ham.

{77:52} Et abstulit sicut oves populum suum: et perduxit eos tamquam gregem in deserto. {77:52} And he took away his own people like sheep, and he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

{77:53} Et deduxit eos in spe, et non timuerunt: et inimicos eorum operuit mare. {77:53} And he led them out in hope, and they did not fear. And the sea covered their enemies.

{77:54} Et induxit eos in montem sanctificationis suæ, montem, quem acquisivit dextera eius. Et eiecit a facie eorum Gentes: et sorte divisit eis terram in funiculo distributionis. {77:54} And he led them to the mountain of his sanctification: the mountain that his right hand had acquired. And he cast out the Gentiles before their face. And he divided their land by lot to them, with a line of distribution.

{77:55} Et habitare fecit in tabernaculis eorum tribus Israel. {77:55} And he caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.

{77:57} Et averterunt se, et non servaverunt pactum: quemadmodum patres eorum, conversi sunt in arcum pravum. {77:57} And they turned themselves aside, and they did not serve the covenant. In the same manner as their fathers, they were turned backwards, like a crooked bow.

{77:58} In iram concitaverunt eum in collibus suis: et in sculptilibus suis ad æmulationem eum provocaverunt. {77:58} They impelled him to anger on their hills, and they provoked him to rivalry with their graven images.

{77:69} Et ædificavit sicut unicornium sanctificium suum in terra, quam fundavit in sæcula. {77:69} And he built up his sanctuary, like a single-horned beast, in the land that he founded for all ages.

~ The word ‘horn’ in the Old Testament often is used metaphorically to refer to power or a source of power, or leadership or a particular leader.

{77:70} Et elegit David servum suum, et sustulit eum de gregibus ovium: de post fœtantes accepit eum. {77:70} And he chose his servant David, and he took him from the flocks of the sheep: he received him from following the ewes with their young,

{77:72} Et pavit eos in innocentia cordis sui: et in intellectibus manuum suarum deduxit eos. {77:72} And he fed them with the innocence of his heart. And he led them with the understanding of his hands.

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